Machine for packing cigarettes and like articles



Aug. 7, 1928.

E. KOERNER MACHINE FOR PACKING CIGARETTES AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed April 14, 1927 A TTORNEY Patented Aug. 7, 1928.

UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

IEWALD KOERNER, OF DRESDEN, GERMANY, ASSIGIJ'OR TO UNITED CIGARETTE Milk.

CHINE 00., INC., 0 LYNGHB'URG, VlltG-Illlfi, A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA.

lYIAGHINE FOR PACKING CTGATBETTEE: Alli) LIKE ARTICLES.

Application filed April 1 .3, 192?.

The object of the present invention is to provide means to insure that in the packing of cigarettes or similar articles each package shall he completely filled. The machine compris ,S mechanism for receiving and feeding cigarettes to packaging dcviccsin con'lbination with means for siuiplying any gaps in the train of cigarettes, that is to say the placement of cigarettes omitted by the feed,

The invention will be described with ref erence to the accompanying drawings in IWl1lCl1 Figure l is a View in elevation showing cigarette feeding means in combination with a device to supply cigarettes omitted by the lced;

Figure 2 is a detail view in elevation illus trating means for automatically actuating the auxiliary supply device.

The cigarettes, after they are cut from the rod, or filled in a filling machine, or finished in any other manner, are, for the purpose of packing, generally led to a feed. drum provided at its periphery with grooves, each of which is adapted to receive a cigarette. One of such drums is indicated at 1 in Figures 1 and 2, the cigarettes being shown in stacked relation slightly above and at the right of the drum at m and individual cigarettes being indicated at 2 within the grooves 2 oi? the drum. The usual lifting plates indicated at 3, Figure 1, receive the cigarettes from the drum in order to transport them a further machine.

It periodically occurs that one or more of the grooves of the drum fails to receive a cigarette. As a consequence since for a given area of the drum a definite number of cigarettes are red forwardly in order to complete a package, such package is incom pletely filled.

By the present invention means areTprovided for supplying any deficiency in the teed caused. by gaps in the train of cigarettes carried by the feed drum. In the em-- bodin'ient illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 ci rettes pass downwardly from a hopper indicated. by the dotted lines 4: into the grooves 5 of a supplemental drum 6.

The hopper :may be either clfunnel shaped in its upper part, as shown by the solid lines, l igure 1, or can be constructed with two parallel walls which hold the cigarettes bestep toward'the packing 7 Serial No. 183,789.

tween them as shown by the dotted lines,

Illigure l, and full lines, l igurc 2. The hopper coru'lccts with a cylindrical casing 5 which at the bottom has an opening approximately the width of the cigarettes (major trai'isverse diameter). W ithin cylii'idrieal casing 5 is a supplemental drum 6 rotatable about a shaft 7. The periphery of the drum provided with cigarette holding grooves 2'.

At each revolution of supplemental drum 6 each groove receives from the hopper a cigarette and carries it in the direction of the arrow along the wall of the housing toward. the drum opening, which opening is directly over food drrun 1.. Supplementary drum (3 may be continuously rotated atthe same peripheral speed as drum 1; so that, during the rotation oi? the two drums, as the cigarette lying in a given groove of drum 1 approaches the opening in casing 5, the cigarette in the lowermost groove of supplementary drum6 lies on top of: it. Should the said groove in the drum 1 be empty, the said lowermost cigarette in the groove of (llllll'l 6 will tall and. supply the deficiency. It, on the other hand, the grooves of feed drum are filled by cigarettes, the latter will, successively, engage the lowermost cigarette carried by drum 6 and hold the same against dislodgment from the casing.

Instead of employing a supplemental drum, such as 6, a simple straight walled chute for the supplemental cigarettes may be employed, which chute will extend down to just over the top of drum 1. The bottom cigarette in the chute will, oi course, come in contact with the cigarettes carried along in the grooves oi drum 1 and as soon as one of: the grooves laclrs a cigarette and passes below the chute, the bottom cigarette in the latter will fall into the groove. For such purpose the ribs between the grooves of the drum 1 should be a little higher than the cigarettes lying in the grooves, so that said ribs will continuously push against the cigarettes in the chute and raise them a little, thereby shaking the column to insure that the bottom cigarette will always fall.

In Figure 2 I have illustrated a means for rotating the auxiliary drum only when it happens that a groove of the feed drum 1 lacks a cigarette. The auxiliary drum in Figure 2 is ind icatcd at 8 as carried by a shaft Connected with the drum 8 is a llt ratchet wheel engaged by a pawl 11 at one end of the lever 12 mounted on'shaft 9, the opposite end of the lever being pivotally connected to a light finger 13 having a downwardly bent rounded end 13% adapted to fall within any of the empty grooves 2 of feed it bodily forward against the tension of a.

light spring 1& which 'acts directly upon lever 12. Thus an actuating movement is given lever 12 and pawl 11 acts to impart movement to auxiliary drum 8 and a cigarette is brought into position to fall into the "empty groove when the latter passes under the gap 15 formed in the casing 16 which surrounds drum 8.

Means are provided for carrying finger 13 bout of the groove of drum 1, such means comprising an inclined plate 17 carried by 7 the finger, which plate, toward the end of an operative movement of the finger, is engaged by a pin 18 fixed upon an arm 18 projecting from casing 16. By reason of the inclined plate 17 and pin 18 the lever is given a'gradual movement upwardly until itse'nd 13 passes above the walls of the groove whereupon spring 14 acts upon lever 12 to return finger 13 to its position as shown in Figure 2.

Having described my invention what I claim and desire'to secure by Letters Patent is as follows 1. In cigarette packing machines,in com- "bination with a device for receiving and feeding a train of cigarettes lying in substantially parallel relationship, in combination with a positively driven rotary supplemental feeding device lying above the first feeding device and inactive so long 'as the train of cigarettes is Without gaps and active 2 to supply successive cigarettes to fill successive gaps inthe train. 7

2. Incigarette packing machines, a primary feed drum provided with a plurality ofperipheral grooves each adapted to re ceive a cigarette and a secondary feeding drum located above the primary drum and v provided with a plurality of grooves each v adaptedto receive a cigarette, and means for rotating the secondary drum in such manner that its cigarettes are successively brought into register with the grooves of the primary feed drum.

In cigarette packing machines, a primary feed drum formed with peripheral grooves each adapted to receive a ci arette, a secondary feed drum provide( with grooves each adapted to receive a cigarette, a casing for said drum having a discharge aperture into which the grooves of the primary feed drum successively come into register, and means for rotating the secondary feeding drum.

4. In cigarette packing machines, a primary ffOCtl drum provided with a. plurality f grooves each adapted to receive a cigarette, a secondary feed drum provided with a plurality of grooves each adapted to receive a cigarette, and means for imparting step by step movements to said secondary feed drum comprising a member adapted to be actuated by the walls of a groove of the primary feed drum in its movement, said memher being held inactive so long as the grooves of the primary feed drum are without gaps in the train of cigarettes fed thereby.

In cigarette packing machines, a primary feed drum provided with parallel grooves adapted to receive cigarettes, a secondary feed drum provided with grooves adapted to receive cigarettes, a casing for said secondary feed drum, said casing having an aperture with which the grooves of the primary feed drum come successively into register, means for imparting step by step movements to the secondary drum com prising a ratchet wheel carried by said secondary drum, a pawl, a pawl-actuating lever, and a finger connected to said lever and movable into a groove of the primary drum when said groove lacks a cigarette whereby the wall of said groove will advance the finger to actuate the lever and pawl.

6. A device constructed in accordance with the preceding claim in combination with means for withdrawing said finger from the groove of the primary feed drum, comprising an inclined wall on the finger in combination with a fixed. member with which said wallmay come into contact, and a spring for returning the finger to its initial position after it has been withdra wn'from said groove.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

EWALD KOERNER. 

